Monthly Archives: May 2011

WASHINGTON, DC - May 12, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Realtors® strive to preserve and expand housing opportunities in communities across the country, and the National Association of Realtors® supported many of these efforts through the Ira Gribin Workforce Housing Grants. NAR issued a final report, “Tackling Workforce Housing State by State,” on the grant program results today at the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C.

Torrance, CA - May 12, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates, one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the country, is pleased to announce the addition of Jim Casale as principal of Lee’s San Diego-UTC office. Casale brings 30 years of experience in investment brokerage, commercial property ownership and property management.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 12, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Builder confidence in the 55+ housing market was markedly more upbeat in the first quarter of 2011 for apartment production and demand than for sales of single-family or condominium homes, according to a new survey released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).The NAHB’s expected demand index for 55+ multifamily rental units rose 10 points, to 44, from a year earlier, while the 55+ Housing Market Indices for single-family units and condos declined 2 and 3 points, down to 17 and 8, respectively.

New York, NY - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Linda I. Gibbs, and Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond today opened the City’s new state-of-the-art intake center for homeless families seeking shelter. With more than 75,000 square feet, the new Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (PATH) facility has 213 percent more space than the original intake site, and houses more than 200 specialists from the Department of Homeless Services, Administration for Children’s Services and Human Resources Administration. The new facility replaces the dilapidated and inefficient Emergency Assistance Unit (EAU).

Albany, NY - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner Darryl Towns today brought the "People First Campaign" to Corning Community College, where he outlined Governor Cuomo's legislative priorities and told New Yorkers that their voices must be heard in order to get Albany to act on these key reforms.

Leesburg, VA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Loudoun County has been awarded its first LEED-certified Silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council (USBGC) for a county government capital project. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally-recognized green building certification system

IRVINE, CA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Award-winning KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture and Planning, is pleased to announce that construction has commenced on Pottery Court Apartment Homes in Lake Elsinore, Calif., a new high-quality, pedestrian-oriented apartment community, located just two blocks from Lake Elsinore’s historic downtown Main Street. Developed by BRIDGE Housing Corporation, a leading nonprofit developer of affordable homes in California, and designed by KTGY, the new residential community offers 113 thoughtfully-planned dwellings ranging in size from one- to three-bedroom units for working families earning between 30 and 50 percent of the area median income. The new 4.4-acre development will cost about $26 million, with the city's Redevelopment Agency contributing about $9.7 million. Pottery Court is expected to be completed by April 2012

BEDFORD, N.H. - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- At its recent meeting, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s Board of Directors approved the commitment of nearly $3 million in federal tax credits that will be used to support construction of 21...

Seattle, WA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The City of Seattle sent letters to more than 800 large commercial property owners and managers today informing them about a new citywide program designed to help owners and managers assess and improve building energy efficiency and spur the market for building energy retrofits.

BOSTON, MA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing has awarded $150,000 in financing to help create or preserve affordable sober housing in Sandwich and Tewksbury.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae's latest national housing survey finds that Americans expressed more cautious optimism during the first quarter of 2011 than in the fourth quarter of 2010, but they continue to lack confidence in the overall strength of the housing market and economic recovery. The First-Quarter 2011 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey polled homeowners and renters between January 2011 and March 2011. Findings were compared to similar surveys conducted throughout 2010 and December 2003.

EUGENE, OR - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. and Oklahoma City Realtor Chris Moore have teamed up to revolutionize the online real estate search process for home seekers. The convenient IDX enabled website Moore hosts has been integrated w...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications increased 8.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 6, 2011.

EUGENE, OR - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. has teamed up with West Palm Beach, Florida Realtor Susan Hoffman to integrate the dynamic IDX Broker software onto the professional website Hoffman represents. Her customizable IDX solution has made finding the perfect Florida area home online monumentally easier for herself and her clients. As a member if the Palm Beach Regional MLS (RMLSFL), Hoffman has long had access to the detailed listings only available to agents and brokers. Now, thanks to her IDX solution, home seekers can experience the same levels of unprecedented access to real estate listings of the website Hoffman hosts. IDX Broker has revolutionized the online property search for potential West Palm Beach buyers.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Tennessee and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds last month.

San Diego, CA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- C.W. Driver, a premier builder serving the Western U.S. since 1919, furthers its impact in the local construction and real estate arena by debuting a pair of design-build libraries in San Diego. Along with providing cultural gathering points for their respective communities, the Fallbrook Library in Fallbrook, Calif., and the Ramona Library in Ramona, Calif., were built to LEED specifications while highlighting C.W. Driver’s positive impact on San Diego County.

Washington, DC - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Realtors® is modifying its popular Green Designation program to focus on residential real estate practice. “NAR research has consistently shown that there is a considerable and growing market for green buildings, and many of today’s consumers want homes and communities that are more resource efficient and sensitive to the larger environment,” said NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I. “NAR’s Green Designation helps Realtors® meet that consumer demand for green building practices. These revisions will help Realtors® continue to bring value to buyers and sellers who value eco-friendly and energy-efficient homes.”

Torrance, CA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Andy Alarcon has joined Keystone Pacific Property Management as a community association manager where he will be managing a portfolio of communities in Orange County.

Washington, D.C. - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland signed into law the state’s adoption of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) enabling the adoption of the IGCC by all local governments across the state. This law is a result of legislative debate – and Maryland is the first state in the nation to make such a collective commitment to the importance of well-built buildings in addressing some of today’s biggest challenges

Los Angeles, CA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- HGA Architects and Engineers (HGA) has won a 2011 AIA Inland California Chapter Honorable Mention for the School of Visual, Performing and Communication Arts at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The project won in the Institutional/Educational/Civic category.

Washington, DC - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The pendulum on mortgage credit has swung too far in the other direction after the recent housing downturn and is putting an unnecessary burden on creditworthy consumers, impeding the economic and housing market recoveries. That’s what a panel of industry experts told several thousand Realtors® gathered at a special symposium, Ensuring Mortgage Availability for Creditworthy Homebuyers, during the Realtors® 2011 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C., here through May 14.

Torrance, CA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the first Class A multifamily transaction to take place in Las Vegas in at least 36 months, Birmingham, Ala.-based REIT, Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE: CLP), acquired a 341-unit apartment community for $40,900,000, according to Jim Fisher, a Principal with Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc and Stephen Peters, a Principal with Lee & Associates-Investment Services Group, who represented the buyer in the transaction.

Washington, DC - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Reforms to America’s housing finance market must ensure a reliable source of affordable mortgage lending for creditworthy consumers. That’s according to Realtors® and other industry insiders who examined the federal government’s future role in the secondary mortgage market at the “Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: Obama Options and Beyond” session during the National Association of Realtors® 2011 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, here through May 14.

Washington, DC - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Now is the time for Realtors® to come to the aid of their industry, on behalf of the nation’s 75 million home owners, aspiring home owners, real estate investors, and the nation’s economy. That was the message delivered today during “59 and ½ Minutes: A Member-Director Forum” during the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here.

Torrance, CA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates, one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the country, has opened its newest office in Greenville, S.C. The firm now has 43 offices nationwide as it remains committed to its expansion campaign scheduled to continue through 2011.

CHINO, CA - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. has brokered a 203,000-square-foot industrial lease for Taylored Services, LLC, at 14211 Monte Vista Ave. in Chino. The supply chain and logistics management solutions provider has added this property to its regional distribution center in an expansion move; the company maintains a presence of approximately 700,000 square feet in the local market.

Washington, D.C. - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- NeighborWorks organizations around the country working to increase the energy efficiency of the more than 5,000 rental homes that they build and rehab annually, as well as their mixed-use projects, now have access to a new suite of flexible and affordable loan products from NeighborWorks Capital.

Hoboken, NJ - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- There is one quality that people consistently mention when they talk about the best active adult residences in New Jersey: a strong sense of community. Having an active social life and plenty of recreational opportunities is something that distinguishes The Club at Autumn Ridge, a luxury adult rental community in Union Township, NJ.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- According to new data released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), stark contrasts exist in housing affordability between major races and ethnic groups across the United States. The NAHB’s quarterly index, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), which measures housing affordability in metropolitan areas nationwide, was broken down for the first time in its history to analyze the differences in income and housing affordability in 2010 across five different races/ethnic groups.The report examined median incomes and housing affordability for Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and American Indians/Alaska Natives. The HOI for all races/ethnic groups combined was 72.8 in 2010, meaning that 72.8 percent of all homes sold in the U.S. last year were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400.

JERSEY CITY, NJ - May 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Memorial Day weekend signifies the official start of summer for many and residents of Crystal Point in downtown Jersey City are gearing up for the warmer temperatures and anxiously awaiting the debut of the 42-story condominium building’s Manhattan-style outdoor amenities.